Axemen rolling at right time of year

SUMMERSIDE – It is not uncommon for a surprise team to emerge come playoff time.

In the P.E.I. School Athletic Association Senior AAA Boys Soccer League this year, that team is the Three Oaks Axemen.

The Axemen went 1-3-1 (won-lost-tied) in the regular season, and entered the playoffs as the sixth seed. But Three Oaks went on to pull two road upset wins – 2-1 in penalty kicks over the third-seeded Montague Vikings in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, and a 3-0 win over the top-seeded Bluefield Bobcats on Wednesday.

“I’d be lying if I said I expected to be there, but I had no doubt our team was good enough to be there,” said Axemen head coach Greg McGuire. “I told them all season, ‘If we go out and execute our game plan, and play hard for 90 minutes there is no team we cannot beat.’

“The boys have kind of proven that the last two games.”

Credits players

McGuire credits players stepping up and playing as a team. He also noted the Axemen’s refusal to become frustrated, and bounce back after giving up goals.

Face Charlottetown Rural

The Axemen will meet the Charlottetown Rural Raiders in Saturday’s final at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

McGuire understands what it’s like to play for a PEISAA soccer gold medal.

“It’s pretty big, especially playing against Rural,” he continued. “The Three Oaks-Rural rivalry is alive and well, and there will be another chapter after Saturday.

“I know when I was in high school, we played the finals against Rural twice, and lost both times. It will be nice if the boys could win on Saturday.”